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28 Feb 2017

I had the honour of being invited as a special guest to a Cosrx Malaysia Beauty Workshop Event with Joan Kim organized by Hermo. Actually I wasn't aware that Joan will be there when I attended the workshop so it was quite a surprise to see her there. The workshop was carried out in SFG Cafe at Sunway Nexis. There were about 50-60 of us invited to the event.

This event was meant to promote the new invention from Cosrx - the One Step Moisture Up Pad.

Have you ever experienced working until late at night for weeks, finding your eyes area become easily irritated, dry and painful? If you have, then this mask is the right product for you.

Actually this eye mask is kinda like a dark horse for me. I bought it some times ago last year but only using it sparingly because I didn't really need it back then. I only used eye cream as and when needed.

It was not until recently that I started to pay more attention to this product, when no other eye products can do a better job at soothing and calming my eyes area. I wasn't having enough sleep in the past two months due to work-related reasons hence the one inch area around my eyes got super sensitive and dry. The condition was so bad that even my beloved Belif Moisturizing and Firming Eye Cream couldn't help. This eye mask then rode in with a dark horse to calm, hydrate and soothe my eyes area. I love it so much that I want to write a full review about it!

27 Feb 2017

I recently received several emails asking me about the skincare routine for oily and acne-prone skin. I personally don't have acne or oily skin so it is quite difficult for me to pinpoint products that are suitable for those skin types. Hence, I decided to do a skincare routine review for men with oily and acne-prone skin based on my bf's routine. Although this is called a skincare routine for men, but I will try to make it as gender-neutral as possible to benefit ladies with similar problems as well!

This is actually a Korean skincare routine, but if you observe carefully, you will notice that most products I use are non-Korean products. However, this doesn't prevent this routine from being labelled as a Korean skincare routine. You can read further on Korean/Asian skincare routine from my explanation here.

I find that some Western products actually work better for oily and acne-prone skin whereas Korean products tend to focus more on hydrating and brightening. Hence, mixing and matching ensures that I am using the best products instead of blindly sticking to Korean-only products.

I am a packaging person when it comes to skincare. Often time I buy a product because it looks too cute to be resisted. And this normally ends in disappointment. It is not until I met Cosrx that I change my mind on how skincare brands can be non-cute and non-fancy but effective. Plus, non-fancy clothing also brings down a lot of the prices which come back to benefit us the consumers!

How I get to know Cosrx? Actually my relationship with Cosrx isn't a love at first sight. It is too ordinary and plain to be noticed. But out of sudden almost all my Instagrammers and vloggers I follow are sharing about it, even Fiddy Snail, Meejmuse, Joan Kim and Liah Yoo. It got me curious and here starts my official relationship with Cosrx.

I got most of my Cosrx products from Qoo10 and Koreadepart. Some I got during Cosrx exhibition to Malaysia. Hermo is carrying it at the end of last year which was quite unfortunate because I have already got most of my Cosrx directly ordered from Korea. But if you live in Malaysia and want to get a hand on Cosrx products, Hermo is the fastest way you can get all these products.

If you are new to Cosrx, Cosrx is a Korean cosmetic brand that focuses on using only quality and minimum amount of ingredients to achieve maximum skincare goals. Most of Cosrx products are targeted for oily and acne-prone skin. They also carry an entire hyaluronic acid range for drier skin but their AHA/BHA products are the most popular ones.

Cosrx is also unique in the sense that they have really down-to-earth customer service attitude. You can always e-mail or leave a comment on their Instagram account. They will always try their best to give you the best feedback. But even if you don't, you can get most of your answers from the bloggers, youtubers and Instagrammers who share about those products anyway.

That's how I get to know about Cosrx. Next we will go straight to the 16 Cosrx products that I have tried and my impressions on them:

Normally, 1 plus 1 is equal to 2. But for Laneige Clear-C Advanced Effector and White Plus Renew Original Essence, it is 3.5. In this review, I will be sharing my thoughts on these two brightening products from Laneige and whether or not using them together will bring greater brightening effects to the skin.

15 Feb 2017

I always thought that things will never work out between me and emulsion. Yes, emulsion, the lightweight, lotiony moisturizer that is runnier than a cream but denser than a toner.Almost none of the emulsion I have tried come to my favourite, not even the Belif one! Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion and Goodal Moisture Barrier Liquid are light enough, but they are the rare exceptions in this case.But what I have today actually changed my thought on emulsion-type product completely! It is the Yuri Pibu Artichoke Power Essence. This little bottle is packed full of emollients and antioxidants with an emulsion-like consistency. It is so well made that I guess if all my emulsion are made this way then I would happily slather them all over my body even on my hair!Let's take a look at the product!

13 Feb 2017

If you have sensitive, acne-prone and oily skin looking for something to kick start and refresh your day, then this is the product that you are looking for!

Actually, I have heard about Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser quite some time ago and only got to buy it for my bf last year. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll notice that my bf bought himself a set of Kiehl's skincare and was quite committed to that. However, he sometimes complains that Kiehl's Calendula Foaming Wash is a little bit too deep-cleansing and drying for morning uses hence was looking for something gentler. As such, I bought him this cleanser having read a lot of informative reviews on it!

10 Feb 2017

I thought it is only a matter of time before I give up on this product completely. I had heard great things about it, but also some negative ones which complained about how this feels nothing more than just a hydrating toner. Unfortunately, I belonged to the latter. This used to be a "meh" for me until I learned about this interesting Korean 7 Skin Method that I started appreciating it.

6 Feb 2017

Actually I should jump the bandwagon earlier, but I was a bit skeptical when it comes to cleansing toner. I wasn't exactly sure what should I do with it, given that I already have a couple of cleansing water lying in my wardrobe and I don't makeup that much to need a cleansing water at home. I also worried that this might just be another celebrities-endorsed beauty trend that turned out to be a gimmick, like the J.One Jelly Pack. Besides, a cleansing toner at KRW 25,000 (RM 100) for 340ml is considered pricey for me. My holy grail Nature Republic cleansing water costs only KRW 15,000 (RM 50-60) for 510ml!

It was not until one of my favourite vlogger Meejmuse raved about it that I finally decided to give this a go. Besides, it just so happened that I needed a cleansing toner the time Meejmuse talked about this Beauty Water. So at night, I quickly went home and clicked the order button. Three weeks later, my Koreadepart haul with this Beauty Water inside safety arrived at my apartment.

4 Feb 2017

I wrote a detailed overview on Whamisa previously, which you can check out here.

To recap, Whamisa is a Korean brand focusing on manufacturing real food for the skin using only organic and quality ingredients. They are among the selected few cosmetic brands to obtain the BDIH certificate from the Germany and ECOCERT from France. Due to their strict regulation, Whamisa products tend to have shorter shelf life, ranging between 1.5 to 2.0 years. You are not encouraged to use them past expiry date since I noticed that some of my miniatures and the Damask Rose Petal Mist I bought have somehow deteriorated after the expiry date.

The special thing about Whamisa is that it uses double fermentation, which is to break down skin-benefiting ingredients into smaller molecules that make it easier for the skin to absorb. Fermentation is not new to many of us. The uber expensive SK-II Pitera Essence uses sake fermentation. Even tofu, miso and kimchi we eat are fermented products. Fermentation allows friendly bacteria to do the digesting and nutrition-adding works for us, and it serves as a natural preservative against unfriendly bacteria, which gives fermented products longer shelf life without controversial preservatives.

I mentioned in my first part of Whamisa overview that I had purchased 4 items from Whamisa outlet: the Organic Flowers Deep Rich Essence Toner, Original Toner, Damask Rose Petal Mist and Water Cream.

2 Feb 2017

I am by no mean a fan of roses but for some reasons rose always dominant the top ingredients list in skincare products. A few products I have use rose as the main ingredient, from Aromatica First Serum, Whamisa Damask Rose Mist, Naruko Rose Gelly Mask to Mamonde Rose Honey Sleeping Mask.

Rose is also a highly popular sheet mask flavour. Most facial mask carries at least one rose flavour. Damask Rose is among one of the ten classic flavours My Beauty Diary has been carrying despite its constant product revamping since its first launch. Mamonde Rose Moisturizing Mask is also the best among all others flavours. Hence, there must be a reason why rose becomes one of the most popular skincare ingredients.

Rose extract with its rich vitamins, mineral and antioxidants content, is an excellent emollient to moisturize dry skin. It also has great antiseptic and astringent properties for individuals with pores and acne concerns whereas its anti-inflammatory property soothe and protect the skin from environmental aggressors. The unique earthy and enticing scent of rose also found to have aromatherapy property that lowers cortisol level in the body, reduce anxiety and treat depression.

Rose has also been utilized as a beauty ingredient dated 35 million years ago. Cleopatra had her living quarters filled with rose petals so that Marc Antony would be reminded of her everytime he smelt a rose. Women with higher status in the Roman society often uses rose petals in believing that they could banish wrinkles.

Let's compare two highly popular rose product from Melvita and Mamonde!

This was the first Belif product my mom bought when she walked into Belif store at Sunway Pyramid. Belif just came out with this Tincture of Chamomile at that time and the Beauty Consultant recommended it to my mom when she asked for a product that will improve blood circulation to her skin due to stress, sleep deprivation and such.

Naturally, we also grabbed some of the Belif products such as Witch Hazel toner, Hungarian Water Essence and Aqua Bomb before heading home. But this is definitely the first Belif item that we purchased from the store.

If you are curious what a Tincture of Chamomile is, it is basically an essence made of chamomile extract. However, rather than using water as the solvent, Belif goes the traditional way by having the chamomile dissolved in alcohol. This allows skin-benefiting substance otherwise insoluble in water dissolved in alcohol hence maximizing the potency of chamomile extract.

As such, despite the confusion surrounding its name, Belif Tincture of Chamomile is essentially an essence, not toner, treatment essence or serum. It is the closest to Kiehl’s Iris Extract Activating Treatment Essence, which you need to use after a toner and before a serum. I personally wouldn’t use this as the first step of my routine unless the toner I use has thicker consistency. You can also think of this like a booster or skin vitamin used to enhance the efficacy of other products.